Artwork for a mural in Paisley to commemorate the bravery of a Christian missionary in Hungary sent to Auschwitz after refusing to abandon the Jewish girls in her care has been unveiled.
Church of Scotland missionary Jane Haining – the only Scot to be named as Righteous Among the Nations (a non-Jewish person who risked their own life to save Jewish people or communities) – was matron of the Scottish Mission School in Budapest. The school, which took day and boarding pupils was predominantly for Christians, but many Jewish children attended too.
When in March 1944 the Nazis stormed their way into Budapest and the Church of Scotland requested Haining return to Scotland for her own safety, she chose to remain with the Jewish children in her care.
The following month she was arrested by the Gestapo, accused of espionage for England.
Agnes Rostas, a former pupil, later spoke of Haining’s arrest and how she tried to reassure her sobbing pupils, telling them: “Don’t worry, I’ll be back by lunch.”
Haining was deported to to Auschwitz-Birkenau in May 1944 where she was branded prisoner 79467 and forced to work as a slave labourer until she was gassed at thec age of 47.
The mural in her honour was commissioned for Holocaust Memorial Day by the Renfrewshire branch of public services union Unison and was created by Paisley-based artists Alexander Guy and Caroline Gormley.
Measuring 9 feet high and 65 feet long, it will depict Haining surrounded by children reading a book, with portraits of her as a young woman and older woman on either side.
Key buildings in her life, including the cottage outside the village of Dunscore in Dumfriesshire where she was born, the Scottish Mission School and Auschwitz-Birkenau, will also feature.
Guy said of the piece: “Jane Haining was a true heroine and her story needs recognition, whether it’s in Budapest... [or] Paisley... I’m very honoured and privileged to produce a mural that hopefully does her and all her relatives proud.”
The artwork was unveiled on Tuesday – Holocaust Memorial Day – with attendees lighting candles and laying wreathes in Haining’s memory. Among those gathered was Haining’s niece Deirdre MacDowell, who said: “It has been an emotional and rather overwhelming day, and we are delighted that the mural will be in a good location in Paisley.
“It tells Jane’s story beautifully with the image of her and the children at the centre of it.
“There is so much enthusiasm for Jane’s story and it is wonderful that the film will be shown in schools so younger generations can learn who she was and from her example.”
The mural is due to be unveiled in the early spring.
Gormley said: “We won’t be using spray paints, we will be using brushes and just treat it like fine art canvas, that’s how we’ll approach it.”
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